Waterproofing is a crucial part of construction process. The developments used for this purpose advance in parallel with improvement in construction industry.
Designs form between adjacent concrete course and where mechanical elements penetrate the concrete are the most likely points of water ingress into below grade concrete structures. To prevent this happening waterstops are commonly certified and installed at every joint in the concrete below grade. Waterstop is installed in concrete joint is an important component of an overall waterproofing designed to protect to below grade portions of concrete structure. These products are commonly used in construction joints are a good design practice for building foundations with or without a positive side waterproofing membrane. The brand also offers the best of Walkways and Cuplocks.
The waterstop can be a belt and suspenders approach to provide a dry structure for the occupants and owners.
Below grade structures present condition making a two very likely water that is also present under imitated or constant hydrostatic pressure can infiltrate through the concrete joints. Therefore, these water stops are also used as a part of the overall waterproofing protection on a variety of concrete structure that includes:
Most of the construction professional think of a water top the generally refers to a dumbbell or ripped profile extrusion of thermoplastic or rubber material, 102 to 305 mm (4 to 12 in.) wide install in a concrete joint. Since 1950s, the most widely used waterstop is polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These are strong and flexible and these products have been used due to ease of welding and inherent resistance of groundwater and common waste water treatment chemicals.
They are now plastic, asphaltic, myriad metal, and hydrophilic materials, with different compositions and profiles, that are utilized to solve water ingress through joints in concrete structures.
A water stop is a material embedded in the concrete with the singular purpose to obstruct the passage of water through the joint. It is not an elastomeric sealant adhered to the exposed surface of the joint.
Beyond the joint, waterstops cannot prevent migration of water for capillary moisture potential through a concrete slab to protect the flooring system from adhesion failure or deterioration.
It is extremely important that the waterstop is to be manufactured with the best quality raw materials and with zero defects. There are many material types and profile which are available for different applications and condition so the specified a must choose water stops according to his needs.
Construction joint- intentional interfaces between adjacent concrete placements created to facilitate construction.
Expansion joint- it separates adjacent concrete force protecting them from compressive stresses developed by the thermal expansion seismic events live load deflection
Contraction joints- intentional grooves to create weakend plane to control the location of cracks from shrinking of concrete while curing.